New job search resources

Sunday

Dec 1, 2013 at 6:00 AM

Q: After being unemployed for a few months, I took a position with a medium-size company that I didn't know much about. I discovered right away that it was a mistake.

I was not a match for the cutthroat corporate culture, and, as an older worker, I was not in the company's sweet spot of the 25 to 30 set. My boss, whom I never met before the interviewing process, is 28 years old and has never spoken to me. What suggestions can you make? — N.W.

A: With the current ratio of job seekers to job openings holding steady at 2.9-to-1, and with millions of Americans still struggling to find work plus millions more who have dispiritedly given up on the job search, your holiday timing is perfect to share news of two excellent resources — both of which are free and yours for the asking.

•The first is a super new guide for job seekers that's just been released by Career Directors International, a global association of career and resume professionals.

•The second is an offer of two days set aside for free advice from professional job-search coaches who normally work for global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

CDI GUIDE

"Supercharge Your Job Search: Short, Sweet & Tweet" is the title of a new 76-page e-book created by 49 résumé writers, career coaches and recruiters from around the globe. They share their expertise in a year-in-the-making project that was helmed by CDI president Laura DeCarlo.

Download "Supercharge" at careerdirectors.com/charger.htm.

"Supercharge" is the first career guide I've seen presented almost entirely in Twitter tweets — 900 of them! (Twitter is a social network that allows people to communicate with each other by composing messages that use a maximum of 140 characters.)

The book opens with a brief but clarifying tutorial and acronym guide to tweeting for the untweeted, before launching into nine content-packed chapters. Here's a thumbnail of each chapter:

1. Focusing on the tools of a hard-hitting job search

2. Targeting organizations, industries and individuals

3. Networking to find jobs

4. Using job boards and website job centers effectively

5. Leveraging career fairs

6. Sourcing jobs with recruiters and social media

7. Finding temporary to permanent hiring opportunities

8. Benefitting from help-wanted ads

9. Performing company walk-ins

My suggestion: Fire up your computer this very minute and download this generous-but-free offer from Career Directors International.

CHALLENGER CALLS

Mark your calendar for December 26 and 27, when an annual two-day national job-search call-in will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Central). The number to call is (312) 422-5010.

That's when you can chat up for free the professional job-search coaches at Challenger, Gray Christmas (challengergray.com). They'll be ready for your call. (If lines are busy, keep trying — it's worth it.)

Challenger's business delivers job-search training and transition counseling to individuals who have been laid off. The firm's services normally are available only to those who receive outplacement benefits from their former employer.

Note a point of clarification: The call-in is not intended to place callers into open jobs. Nor do the Challenger coaches review caller resumes or point them toward specific opportunities. What the coaches can do is point callers toward strategies and interviewing techniques, as well as offer advice on answering questions about a long absence from the workplace or a termination. Additionally, the coaches can suggest ways to uncover the hidden job market.

Challenger's CEO, John A. Challenger, notes that the 27 previous two-day call-ins have helped veterans translate their military experience to the private sector, helped older job seekers to overcome doubts about finding new work opportunities, and helped parents re-entering the workplace find their footing after several years of child-rearing.